She had been back in her cell for a couple of hours. How long she had been kept in the white room, she had no clue. Her hold on reality and time snapped before the men were finished. The whole time those men were forcing themselves on her, the Logan in her head screamed at her to let him take control. He begged her to let him take this from her, but she refused. She feared he would tell them where to find the real Logan just to stop them from hurting her.

“Where is my damn purse?” The first of the tears fell as she searched blindly through the dark. Her trembling hand touched nothing but air.

Logan’s soft voice vibrated through her head and she stopped her search. “I never leave home without it,” she said in a childlike voice.

“Don’t do this,” Logan pleaded.

Laughter started bubbling up through her throat and she coughed to keep down. “I have to go to the store Logan. I can’t go without my purse.”

A small part of her, a very small part at this point, understood that what she was saying did not make any sense.

“Rogue…,” Logan’s voice trailed off.

For a moment it was completely silence around her. She could feel the voices in her shifting. It was like feeling a soft breeze on your cheek, yet she felt it in her mind. At first there was nothing, just a tickle.

“Logan?” she whispered in the darkened cell.

There was no answer. For a moment, Marie feared that the collar they had put on her had done something to the voices. At the thought of the collar, Marie felt herself push away from the memory. It would remind her of what else had happened.

“Logan, answer me!” she whispered frantically.

She could feel someone just below the surface, someone waiting to make their presence known. In an instant she knew that it was not Logan. Fear, as thick as fog, closed in on her. Had Logan abandoned her?

“I’m sorry!” she cried.

Calm surrounded her and her tears stopped. Looking into the darkness, seeing nothing, she waited. Thoughts of the collar, her purse, and earlier events melted from her mind. Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath .

Marie’s eyes burst open in surprise. It was a voice that she had not heard in years. Logan had been able to keep this voice from her psyche ever sense he had saved her on Liberty Island. The feel of him connected with her felt weird and she started to fight against him. She had had enough of people being inside of her who weren’t welcome. Anger rushed through her and she rose to her feet.

“Get out of my head!” she growled. Logan would have been proud of that growl.

There was an audible sigh. “I told you this would not work,” Eric said in defeat.

As quietly as a whisper, Logan spoke, “It has to.”

Relief flooded Marie as she heard his voice. He was still there, even if he was in the background.

Eric’s voice relented a little as Logan came more to the surface. Her head began to ache. It always did when two voices in her head came to the surface.

“Please darlin‘, let him help you. I…I can’t in this situation,” Logan said defeated.

“Let him help me? How can he help me!” Marie asked angered.

Marie was brought up short. The anger died away as she thought about what Eric said. “You know this to be true. You have my nightmares,” Eric whispered.

Logan might have kept him from gaining control of her body but the nightmares, Logan could not control. She suffered through many nights of what it was like being in a death camp. She had seen, as if it were happening to her, what all Eric had been through. Waking up with a scream on her lips, it would take Marie several minutes, and the real Logan’s reassurances to help her to remember that it did not happen to her.

“How can you help me?” she whispered.

She felt Logan’s relief and him moving further back to allow Eric room to work. The ache in her head died down and she was thankful of that.

Marie snorted, she could not help herself. “Trust you? You tried to kill me and was successful until Logan brought me back! she hissed.

His words made her wince. She heard a distance growl in her mind. The Logan in her head did not like the thought of loosing any contact with her, and she agreed with him.

“I’m slipping away Eric,” she whispered.

Marie had never called the voice in her head Magneto. It had always been Eric. It was more personal and not matter what she thought of the real man, the voice in her head was a part of her as Logan was. In moments like this, Marie understood why that was.

Before she could answer him, she heard the footsteps signaling the approaching guards. Her heart began to beat and a strangled sob escaped her lips. She could not endure another night of assaults. Her feet began to slowly move back, as if she could hide in the darkened shadows of her cell. The wall stopped her movements. The jagged edges dug into her back, but she was far to gone to notice the pain.

Marie had forgotten that Eric was so close to the surface. By the time he gained control, it was to late for her to do anything about it. She felt him take hold of her psyche and push her aside.

Marie was surrounded by blackness inside her own mind. She could feel Logan close to her and reached out to touch him. There was a low growl and in front of her, as small light began to grow. She watched in awe as the light began to grow and from within it, something began to take shape. She could make out a shape like that of a person. The light began to dim and standing before her was Logan. Marie let out a small cry and started running towards him. Logan matched her steps with his own. Marie threw herself at him and he caught her in his strong arms. She held on to him as if her life depended on it. His arms felt so warm and safe around her.

“Rogue,” he whispered in her ear.

She could not help but smile. Her fingers dug into his shirt, trying to bring him even closer to her. She had missed his smell, his strength, his everything. “Shhh…I got ya darlin’. You’re safe now.”

His voice was soft and yet it surrounded her every being. Marie had never known that this was possible. She did not realize that the voices in her head could actually be physical being inside her psyche. For the time being, she would not dwell on it too much. She would enjoy this moment for she did not know how long it would last.

Opening her eyes, she met his hazel ones. His hands rose to her cheek and began to caress them. Slowly, Logan reached down and lightly kissed away a stray tear falling from her eye. He leaned his face back, looking deep into her eyes. She felt heat rise in her cheeks and tried to hide her shyness with a smile. She watched as a small smile played on Logan’s lips as well. As if in slow motion, she watched him bring his lips towards hers. She had wanted him to kiss her for so long, and now it was happening. It did not matter to her that it was happening in her head, it felt so real.

He was inches away from her and Marie leaned in to close the gap. As soft as a feather, his lips touched hers. Electricity shot from her lips down to her toes. She felt him throughout her whole being and she begged for more. Her arms tightened around his neck and brought him closer to her, crushing her lips to his. A hunger stirred inside her like none she had ever felt. She was lost in the moment, in Logan.

Logan broke the kiss, but never took his lips away from hers. “Rogue, I’m out there searching for you, you know that don’t you?”

She did not speak, only nodded. The movement caused her lips to rub against his, causing another explosion throughout her body. She tried to start the kiss again, but he held her at arms length. She looked into his eyes and for a split second something passed in them that she did not recognize. She felt a small shift but could not explain it. He was Logan and yet something about him wasn’t. She searched his eyes looking for reassurance but found none. There it was again, the slight shift. Marie waited for the point where she would know that this was Logan, but it didn’t come.

“My next question is very important Rogue. I need you to tell me that you know that I’m out there looking for you. I need you to reassure yourself that I’m looking by telling me how I would find you. Do you know Rogue? Where would I be right now, trying to find you?”

And there it was. Marie face fell, as she pushed the strong arms away from her. How could she be so stupid. She wanted to scream and cry all at once as the realization of what was happening crashed down upon her.

“Rogue, please…I’m so close to losing you. Help me out here.”

“Rogue…” he reached out to her and she slapped his hand away.

Logan’s face was one of shock as he stared at her. Marie’s face was a mask of fury so filled with hatred she began to shake. How could she have allowed this to happen. Her vision began to blur and the face that she longed to touch became distorted.

“Rogue, I’m just trying to help you out here. All you have to do is tell me where the real me would be right now. I just want you to hear yourself say that I am still out there. Your at the edge baby, you ’re about to jump to a place I won’t be able to reach you.”

Again, he reached for her and she backed away from him. His face was still distorted by her tears, and it gave her the separation from him that she needed to figure out what was happening. The truth of it almost made her break completely. Marie let out a laugh of frustration and turned away from him. Her breathing was coming out in short puffs. She heard him take a step towards her and she turned her hardened eyes to look at him. His hand slowly raised for her to take.

“He never calls me Rogue,” she whispered through gritted teeth.

“What?”

“He has NEVER called me Rogue! He hates that name you son of a bitch!” Marie screamed with every ounce of strength she could muster.

She watched as the confusion playing on his face turned to a sadistic smile. The hazel eyes that she loved turned to a green and blue color. The blackness around them began to take on a different shape. Marie felt as if something were holding her down. Her legs and wrists began to feel as if they were in binds. She fought against it, but the feeling did not go away. Her eyes never left the one’s in front of her.

He began to laugh. The sound was foreign to her. It was not the laugh that made her feel as if the whole world was right. His body began to change as well as his face. The strong muscular man that stood before her a few minutes ago changed into someone sitting in a wheelchair. He looked sickly and strong all at once. His body melted into the wheelchair. Gone was Logan’s beautiful face, being replaced by one Marie had never seen. There were surgical cuts on his head, as if he had several different surgeries on his brain. Marie could not help the shutter that ran down her body. Logan’s clothes were replaced by that of a hospital gown.

The man was complete in front of her and Marie felt his blue and green eyes boring into hers. The sadistic smile was gone, replaced by one of shear concentration. She could feel the man trying to penetrate her head. He wanted back in. She had figured out his game and now he was desperately trying to get back in. She fought against him, but he was so strong.

“Oops,” she heard him rasp inside her head.

All at once, the blackness was gone. In it’s place stood a room that she knew without a thought. All around her were the doctors. They were going about their work as if she weren’t there. Stryker stood in front of her, looking very angry. Beside him was the man in the wheelchair. His eyes never moved from her own. He watched her with a stoic look that she wanted to slap from him. He had tried to trick her into telling him where Logan was. She had almost fallen for it.

“Damn it!” Stryker said angrily.

Marie jumped at his outburst. She looked back and forth at the man in the wheelchair and Stryker. Something was familiar about the other man. Marie couldn’t figure it.

As if Stryker heard the questions in her head he said, “Mutant, meet my son.”

Marie gasped. This was the son that Stryker had said was responsible for his wife’s death. With that thought, Marie felt searing, hot pain in her head. She screamed and desperately tried to reach for her head but could not. Her arms and legs were bound. Her body began to convulse under the strain of the pain.

“Jason, stop this at once! Stryker said demanding.

The pain ceased. Her body began to calm down. Marie try to get a hold of her racing heart. It was over, the pain was gone. No one spoke for a moment. Everyone was looking towards Stryker for his next move. He was staring at Marie, trying to figure out where to go from here. She watched him, waiting as well. They had almost found out Logan’s location. She had almost let it slip.

From within her mind, she heard a loud growl. The Logan in her head had gone berserk. It was taking everything that Marie had to keep him from taking control. She had never known him to be this out of control, even after the first time she had touched him. He was fighting his way to the surface and she was desperate to keep him down. He was not thinking straight. She could feel the hatred and anger inside him He had had to watch as they used him to try and pry the information out of Marie. Logan was far too gone to console.

Marie gritted her teeth and shoved Logan down with all that she had. The act alone was enough to make her weak. She stared at Jason’s face and saw a small movement in his eyes. He could feel what was going on inside of her. His two-toned eyes bore into hers.

Stryker leaned in close to Marie. Slowly, she turned her face away from Jason and looked at Stryker. His face was calm and again she was reminded at how easy he could pass for a loving grandfather. She could feel it. This was it. She was at the end of the line with Stryker. Marie did not know how long she had been here, but she knew that Stryker had had enough. For him to bring his son here, told her that there were no more options.

The tears began to flow from her eyes and she shook her head no. Logan began to calm inside of her mind as he listened to what was taking place. The voices inside of her, Logan, Eric and the rest waited with bated breath.

“It would have all been so much easier Mutant. All you had to do was tell us where he was and all of this could have went away,” Stryker said.

He motioned with his hands around the room to indicate what he was saying. Marie looked around her. Everyone was standing in the background watching the exchange. Some of the nurses looked on with sad faces, as if they cared. That look confirmed what Marie had feared. It would all be over soon.

Marie swallowed down her fear and turned towards Stryker again. She would not die a coward. She would face death head on and welcome it. At least when it was over, she would be rid of this place for good. She would be rid of the doctors and the guards. She would be rid of the experiments and the darkened cell. She would be rid of Stryker.

“I’m here Marie.” Logan whispered in her head.

He would be there with her at the end. She closed her eyes and allowed him to surround her. Everything else melted in the background as she felt Logan embrace her.

“Goodbye Mutant,” Stryker said as he stood. “Jason, please finish her.”

His command was soft. Marie heard it but she was beyond caring. All she knew and felt was Logan and his embrace. She clung to him, for she knew that this was the real Logan in her head and not Jason. Whatever was about to happen, she would not care. She was home. She was finally home.

“He loves you as I love you Marie,” Logan whispered. “Don’t ever forget that.”

His words told her that he knew the end was coming. She had always expected him to fight it, but he just held her closer. Even Eric did not fight. They had excepted their fate along with hers.

The blackness around Marie began to shake. She could feel the pressure on her head, so she held Logan tighter. At first the pain was a dull throb, but slowly it began to grow. The blackness began to shake violently with bright white. Marie clenched her eyes shut and tried to fight against the violent attack of her mind. It was only natural.

Logan began to shake in her arms. Her fingernails dug into the fabric of his shirt down to his skin. She held against him with all of her strength. She could hear his breathing speed up in her ears.

“Marie!” he screamed.

His shaking turned violent and she was pushed away from him by the force. She fell to her knees and watched as his body began to shake so fast it was unrecognizable. She reached for him. Standing to her feet, she tried to grab him and was knocked down again. She screamed.

Marie watched horrified as Logan’s body exploded into a cloud of mist. She reached her hand through the mist, searching for him but came up empty.

“LOGAN!” she screamed. Some of the nurses turned away from the girl’s scream. It was an agonizing cry. Stryker stood and watched, a small smile playing on his lips. His son continued to bore into Marie subconscious, killing everything that lived within. Her screams continue to rise in volume as she searched for Logan.

Marie began to feel herself shake. She tried to find something to hold on to in the darkness but there was nothing. She screamed as her whole being began to break, as if it were made from glass. For a moment, she wondered if this is what it felt like to die. She fell to the darkened ground. Her body was convulsing against whatever was happening to her. Her eyes stared straight ahead, not seeing. There was only one thing that passed through her mind at the end. It was of Logan. It was always Logan. In a cloud of mist, her body exploded.

Everyone in the white room looked down at the now still girl. Some of them were ecstatic about what they had just saw. Others, they were horrified. The girl that once would fight them at every turn now lay motionless. She was gone.

Stryker felt relief and disappointment all at once. He was hoping that he could find the information out the easy way, but the mutant had never made it easy. He turned towards one of the Doctors. “Take this thing back where he belongs,” he spat out as he pointed towards Jason. As they wheeled the mutant out, his eyes never left Marie’s still body.

“What about her?” Doctor Langford asked.

Stryker said with a sigh, “Take her to the morgue. We will keep her there for now.”

With that, the guards came forward and unshackled Marie. They picked her up and headed for the morgue. None of them spoke on the way. There was nothing to say.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

“AHHHHHHH,” Logan sat up in bed with a scream. His eyes were wild as they tried to gain control of the situation. He frantically looked around the room to remember where he was. His breaths were coming out in big puffs as sweat slid from his face. His body was shaking as if he were freezing.

He had been dreaming. It had been just a dream, but it had felt so real. He had been with Marie. She had been in his arms. He had been holding her, reassuring her that he was there and that he would protect her. She had clung to him and he to her.

He sat his bared feet on the cold floor, welcoming the feeling as it woke him up. Everything came back to him now. Marie was gone and he had come to Magneto to help find her. It had been six months since she had been taken from him. Six long months of searching and not finding anything.

He stood up and made his way out of the small room. He needed a cigar and some fresh air. He rubbed his hand across his face to wipe away the sweat. The dream had been so real. One minute Marie had been in his arms and the next, he had felt himself being jerked away from her. She had disappeared in a sea of darkness.

He found a large rock to sit on and grabbed his cigar. Putting it in his mouth, he drew a deep puff from it. The cigar helped to calm his nerves a little. He had always had nightmares, as long as he could remember, but this one went beyond a nightmare. He closed his eyes as the cool breeze touched his hot skin.

“Those things will kill you one day.” Logan stiffened as Magneto came forward to stand beside him.

“I’ll take my chances,” Logan said gruffly.

Magneto shook his head in reply. The two men sat in uncomfortable silence for a bit. Neither knew how to start a conversation with the other. Logan chomped on his cigar to keep his mouth shut. He had so many things to say to the other man.

“Bad dream?” Magneto’s soft voice cut through the silence.

Logan looked over at him, disbelief playing on his face. “What? You think I’m gonna open up to you and tell you anything about my damn dreams?”

“Easy Logan. I am not trying to become friends or anything. But, I do know that the one thing you and I have in common are our bad dreams. They haunt us when everything else has died away.”

Logan did not answer. Magneto was right, but tonight it was not one of those dreams. Tonight it was even worse.

“I had a dream about her you know,” Magneto said quietly.

Logan whipped his head around to look at the other man. Magneto’s face was half covered in shadows. His eyes looked straight ahead and for just a moment he looked worried. When he noticed Logan staring at him, his face became a hard mask again.

“So did I,” Logan whispered.

Magneto nodded his head. “I was saving her and she was snatched away from me. Why that should even bother me I have no clue, but it did.” the last part he spoke more to himself than to Logan. For a moment, the man stared out in the darkness looking lost.

Logan swallowed hard. His dream had been like that as well. The two men sat in silence again. The wind blew again, but this time it did nothing to sooth Logan’s soul. It had to mean something that He and Magneto had the same dream about Marie, or was he reading too much into it. Logan wasn’t sure. He turned to ask Magneto about specifics when Mystic stepped out of the shadows.

“Eric, there is a phone call for you,” she said.

Without another word, Magneto stood up and followed Mystic inside. Logan stayed and finished the rest of his cigar. He was so tired and yet he could not sleep. Looking up at the night sky, he again begged God for help. Six months had passed and the chances of her still being alive dwindled everyday. Could that have been what the similar dreams were about? He and Magneto were connected to Marie. Was that her way of saying goodbye?

Logan shook his head frantically, he would not believe it. Not until he had a body.

“Logan, Eric needs to see you now.”

He looked up to see Mystic standing there again, this time summoning him. He took one final pull from his cigar and stood to follow her.

Entering Magneto’s lair, he noticed the man was on the phone writing something on a piece of paper.

“Are you sure about this?” Magneto asked.

There was an inaudible answer on the other end and Magneto nodded his head. Without saying goodbye, Magneto hung up the phone and read what he had written to himself. Logan stood there impatiently waiting on the man to finish.

“I have information about a government facility about forty miles north of here that is said to be a mutant experiment lab. I have the location and we can be there in two hours.”

Logan felt his heart start to race. Could this finally be the one where Marie is? Could he have her in his arms again in a few hours? “Let’s go,” Logan said.

As he walked to his room, he grabbed his cell phone, hitting the speed dial. The phone rang three times before familiar voice answered.

“Be ready, we are moving out. About forty miles north of here.”

“We will be there,” Xavier responded.

Logan waited a few seconds, wanting to say something else but knowing there was nothing to say. Instead, he slowly closed his cell phone and headed towards the only path he knew to head…hopefully one closer to Marie.